AHP has commissioned QI to equip its pair of Komori System 38 presses with closed-loop markless colour control, as well as supplying it with mRC cut-off register control and Intelligent Quality Management (IQM) systems.

Paul Sadler, production director at AHP, said: "We were looking for ISO standard colour management and to make savings in paper waste and faster makeready times."

He added that the QI system, which is being demonstrated on QI's stand (6/D566), willinstalled in the next "couple of months", would help the company "make big savings".

The markless colour control system that AHP has ordered is the same technology that newspaper giant News International invested in at its Broxbourne site.

QI managing director Menno Jansen said that the Ancient House deal represented "a significant breakthrough in the UK heatset market."

Sales director Simon Bermingham added: "We've got about 90% of the UK newspaper market, but

heatset web offset has proved more tricky - this deal could lead to quite a leap forward."

QI has also won a contract with Deeside-based commercial web printer Grapho Media, which will install QI's closed-loop colour control solution on its Komori press.

Grapho Media is the first commercial web start-up in the UK in a decade. It has been established by former Graphoprint personnel and is due to begin production in June.

The firm, which has received backing from the Welsh Assembly, has also specified QI's markless register control system.